Should you accept offer to wipe out home loan?

"It appears that a limited number of short sales in the late stages of approval were interrupted and closed as the second-lien extinguishment program was rolling out and the short sale teams were uncertain how to treat the unfamiliar situation for him," Simon said.

Banks officials have promised to change the process and provide training to representatives so that these delays no longer occur, Simon said.

San Diego short sale negotiator Jacalyn Blank actually told two of her clients to say no to the second-lien forgiveness from Bank of America because she feared that their short sales would be delayed. Bank reps gave her a 90-day release estimate, which again, would have delayed the short sale from closing, Blank said.

Another issue that has cropped up: Some borrowers will see no benefit from the program because they would still be underwater after their second-lien debts are discharged.

In both of Blank's cases, neither borrower would have been in an equity position following a forgiveness.

"I think it's a publicity stunt," said Blank, referring to the program. "I think it's a way for Bank of America to improve their public image. If you don't know the circumstances surrounding the individual's second loan, then it could look like you're doing a great thing."

Bank of America, the most aggressive of the five banks in providing full forgiveness of second liens, is in the process of notifying about 150,000 of its borrowers that they qualify for these wipe-outs. Many of these second loans were absorbed after the purchase of Countrywide, which did a lot of piggy-back loans during the housing boom, said Porter, the public official keeping tabs on the mortgage settlement for California.

The more relief banks give, the more credits they get through the mortgage settlement. The sooner they rack up the needed credits, the sooner they are off the hook in providing consumer relief. Credit amounts also vary by relief.

Porter said she's aware of these second-lien forgiveness issues and stresses that no banks have received credits yet for any consumer help they've given so far.

The five lenders in the settlement agreement -- Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, Chase and Ally -- must routinely submit reports to the national mortgage monitor. At some point, they will be grilled over the relief they receive and how much credit they would be due.